Friday, September 28, 2012

What happened to Katz Salao last Saturday can remind us of how we can fully
accept the full gift of the Gospel to our lives.

It was September 22, 2012. It was at the Mall of Asia Arena. It was the Samsung-UAAP Cheerdance Competition. UE's courtside reporter Katz Salao wowed everyone with a grand entrance to pep the Red Warriors hopefuls... Oops! Of all the events, this unlucky thing happened. Salao, a graduating Broadcasting Communication student at UP Quezon City, confused her alma mater for the school where she was assigned to while starting her spiels. Despite being able to prepare the UE fans for the performance of their pep squad, Katz became a hot topic for that error. Despite the criticisms, Katz stood tall and inspired everyone who commits similar mistakes.

There are some things we can learn from Salao. One of them is knowing your role. She may be from the University of the Philippines, but once Katz steps into the hardwood, she's now Katz Salao the UE Red Warriors reporter. This is not the first time ABSCBN assigned a non-UE student at the helm. In fact, the assigned reporter for UE before Salao, Nikko Ramos, is himself from UP Los Banos. Speaking of Ramos, he has a tougher task. Once he steps to his office at the 9th floor of the Paragon Plaza in Mandaluyong every Sunday, Nikko is the DJ Tyler who handles the Magic on a Positive Note program on Magic 89.9, but if he turns on the mic at the FilOil Flying V Arena in nearby San Juan, he's now Nikko Ramos the NCAA broadcaster. In certain situations, you must know your role in tackling the matter, whether you're alone or you're in a team.

The cooler thing about Salao, however, is her professionalism. We know our respective roles, but sometimes, even if we think we do it correctly, we still commit untimely errors. Salao's slip of the tongue was definitely out of timing. But instead of taking things emotionally (talk about being humiliated in front of 19,505 people on the spot and of millions watching on TV), Salao continued on, made a pretty good alibi to soften the effects of the error, and finished her spiel. That's what you call grace under pressure.

But if there's one thing I liked about her after what happened, that was her acknowledgment of the mistake. Here is her comment on a meme on UAAP-NCAA Memes regarding that shoutout error:

"... unbelievable din ang pangyayari my gosh.... To every Red Warrior here, I apologize so much for that huge fail. Being a UP student isn't an excuse cause I was UE's reporter this time, not UP's. :( And I've been flipping for a while, for my highschool and for UP, but please believe that that all my frontflips [last Saturday] were genuinely for UE only!! Thank you for still cheering with me! :)..."

It's just like our scenario with God. We are bound in this big error called sin, and we fall short of His glory (Romans 3:23). But like how Katz was supported by her UP and UE friends and virtually everyone from both schools, the Lord still loves us despite our nature. That's why it was no less than Himself who came to earth and took what should have been our penalty, death (Romans 6:23). So like Katz, we can get that love Wait! God already gave His love to us and all we can do is to accept that gift. We only need to acknowledge our mistakes, repent from all of them, let the Lord come to our lives, and let Him cleanse our impurities (1 John 1:9).

In the end, what happened to Katz Salao reminded me that God still loves me in spite of my errors. I will let go of my own pursuits and let God direct me so that I will not err.

Saturday, September 15, 2012

While everyone was anticipating the UAAP Board's decision regarding the controversial FEU-NU game, there was another matter that was actually tackled. In another game between Adamson and UST won by the Growling Tigers, the mother of UST's Melo Afuang did not like how Adamson's Roider Cabrera played roughly against her son. Mrs. Afuang, presumably sitting at the back of Adamson's bench, reportedly hit Cabrera at the head after Coach Leo Austria decided to give Cabrera a rest. The board decided to ban the lady from attending the rest of her son's games.

That was not the only time this year that the parents of a player got disgusted during a college basketball game. In the NCAA, former Alaska Aces head coach Joel Banal reportedly exchanged words at San Sebastian's Calvin Abueva during the Golden Stags' game against the Mapua Cardinals, where Banal's son Gab and nephew Tan-Tan are playing. Ironically, Abueva was drafted 2nd overall by the Aces in the recently concluded PBA Draft.

Just recently, the dad of Ateneo's Nico Salva got into a verbal tussle with FEU Tamaraws assistant coach Ronald Magtulis because of Tamaraw Arvie Bringas' unsportsmanlike foul during their game against UP. Bringas did an even nastier act against the Blue Eagles, including spitting on Justin Chua. The UAAP Board gave Bringas a one-game suspension, while the school board added another single-game ban on him. As a result of his manners against UP, however, Bringas was slapped with another 2-game suspension.

I learned one thing from these incidents. There is a huge difference between a regular fan and a parent. For a regular fan, whether he's a loyal supporter or just a bandwagon member, he will just let things go if there's something unpleasant to his favorite athlete. But being a parent goes way beyond that. Even if you don't support the team his son is playing for, he would still come to the stadium to support his son.

I don't blame Mrs. Afuang, Mr. Salva, or Coach Joel for being involved in such altercations. They are there to protect their sons' (and even their families') welfare. I respect them for loving their sons so much that they don't want their children to get hurt or get involved in heated scenarios.

I made this in time for my mom's birthday. I want to thank her for protecting me and providing for me even if she gets upset every time I ask for more. But most of all, I want to thank my Big Daddy, the Lord Jesus Christ, for everything. He will continue to give us the love that He already showed to us ever since. He provides for my mom, and He does the same to me too.

So how can we return the favor? The Lord instructed us, "Honor your father and your mother..." (Exodus 20:12a). What's so cool about this? It has a promise: "...that your days may be long upon the land that the Lord your God has given you." (Exodus 20:12b). So where to start? Paul said, "Children, obey your parents in the Lord..." (Ephesians 6:1a). However, if you think your parents are instructing you something that is not according to what God is saying to you, just say no and explain to them why their command is not right according to Him. I admit. There are times that I am not apprehending to my mom's commands, but I make up on that by thinking about her more and reflecting how to get it right. Like what my boy Alex said in his blog, we're still works in progress.

In the end, let's look back at how our parents protected us, provided for us, and everything else. And think on ways on how to get back at them.

Monday, September 3, 2012

Think about this: Are you ministering through your daily chores like Jesus did?

Just when I thought I was doing fine in blogging, a message from God through the pastor of a budding church came. He read us Matthew 4:23, and he let us make our reflection to the verse. I was definitely shaken up.

After their cell group meeting (or since there's worship time, I'll call it a mini-worship service), I was moved by God's Word. I realized that I may have just used blogging (whether on my sports blog or here) for my own happiness when in reality I'm doing this for the glory of God.

Just as Jesus taught in the synagogues, preached the Gospel, and did miraculous work, we Christians, whether bloggers or not, should do the same too. We need to teach the life principles we learned through Him. We need to tell them of God's love as well. We should also make an impact in their lives even if we don't have the miraculous power of Christ. Seeing our friends knowing God is already a miracle, and all the other miracles they will claim will follow.

So before you embark on another life journey, reflect whether it will glorify the Lord or not.